Applications and Petitions: None Answers and Replies: Congestion Management Rule at LGA - Renewed Request of Air Transport Association for Extension of Comment Period / FAA Letter to PANYNJ - Denial of Request for Extension of Comment Period Waiver of Minimum Slot Usage - Joint Carrier Response to Virgin America Orders and Notices: None Rules and Regulations: None Grant of Petitions: None

	AirTran Airways, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways FAA-2008-0656 - Request for Waiver of Minimum Slot Usage Requirement June 13, 2008 Re: Joint Carrier Response to Virgin America Rapidly rising fuel prices have now become an economic calamity affecting the airline industry and all other segments of the U.S. economy. Indeed, it was only after jet fuel had risen by over 32 percent in approximately four months that the Joint Carriers sought relief. The Joint Carriers understand that the applicable regulations are to be invoked only sparingly, but current circumstances certainly compel relief. Carriers need the flexibility to respond to the immediate fuel price crisis without jeopardizing routes that are of long term importance to their networks and the communities served. VX claims that the Joint Carriers fail to satisfy any of the reasons cited in the applicable regulations or prior precedents (notably post-9/11) for issuance of a waiver. However, VX' s overly narrow interpretation suggests that the only airport where a waiver should have applied after 9/11 would have been at DCA and even then only for the duration of that airport's closure. Yet VX admits such an interpretation would be too restrictive, and that a more expansive waiver after 9/11 was justified to permit the "aviation industry [to] adjust to the changing aviation environment." Such is the case here. The industry is in disequilibrium and needs time to adjust to a rapidly changing environment driven by record high fuel prices and extreme volatility. No loss in competition will result from the grant of this temporary waiver request. The Carriers were unambiguous in declaring that any slots not operated during the waiver period could be used by other carriers seeking to increase service at any of the airports. If an incumbent carrier drops service at JFK, VX or any other carrier could step in and operate the slots for the duration of the waiver period. The airline industry is, and will remain, intensely competitive. Congress's mandate of "maximum reliance on competitive market forces and on actual and potential competition" has been fully met. However, this is just one of many policy directives that Congress has instructed DOT to follow when setting policy. All of them combined go to ensuring a strong and vibrant airline industry. A short-term exemption from the use or lose rules is in no way contrary to any of the Congressional directives - and indeed is fully consistent with DOT and FAA policy and precedent in similar exigent circumstances.  In light of the continued record high fuel prices and challenging operating environment, the Joint Carriers urge the FAA to reject Virgin America's opposition and grant the necessary use or lose relief to enable airlines to adjust schedules at DCA, EWR, LGA, JFK and ORD to reflect the current economic/fuel crisis afflicting the airline industry. We further urge that the FAA take this action as soon as possible in order to allow airlines to make adjustments to their Winter 2008-09 schedule. By: AirTran, American, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways Index Congestion Management Rule for LaGuardia Airport FAA-2006-25709 June 12, 2008 Renewed Request of The Air Transport Association of America to Extend the Public Comment Period Less than a week before the close of the comment period in this rulemaking proceeding, on July 10, 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration added a significant agency analytical document to the docket to supplement the administrative record. This submission, titled “Final Limited Slot Allocation Technical Report,” addresses critical aspects of the auction process FAA has proposed, is just the latest such addition to the administrative record, and forces one to ask: when will the record finally be complete? The FAA has initiated a procurement process to identify a vendor to develop and provide software to conduct the proposed auction. The presolicitation notice makes clear that while the FAA has general auction characteristics in mind, details about the auction process remain unanswered. These details are material to understanding the SNPRM, should (but likely won't) be added to the administrative record and be made available for public comment before a final rule is promulgated, and the final rule should consider and respond to the public input on these critical factors. When these actions are viewed as a whole, FAA's conduct in this proceeding falls well short of what is required by the Administrative Procedure Act and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Air Transport Association of America, Inc. has a strong interest in this proceeding, which seeks to establish a process to confiscate slots from ATA members operating at New York's LaGuardia Airport ( and then reallocate them by an untried and novel auction process, and also retire some slots. It is apparent that the FAA's view of its APA obligations is different than ours and that it will press forward with this proceeding notwithstanding the process concerns we, and others, have expressed. Nevertheless, we now renew our request for FAA to extend the comment period, at a minimum, to August 22, 2008, to allow time to fully review the materials recently added to the docket and consider their implications. Such an extension is not only consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution, but, we believe, compelled by them Counsel: ATA, David Berg, 202-626-4000 June 13, 2008 Re: FAA Letter to The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - Denial of Request for Extension of Comment Period It appears that you had not received our denial of your May 20, 2008 request for an extension of the comment period when you submitted the June 9 request. You have, however, raised a new concern related to the draft lease agreements that the FAA has placed in the docket. Specifically, you state that these lease agreements lack "a statement of the acts or omissions of a slot holder the terms that may result in a loss of the relevant slot." These terms and conditions may be found in article 5 of the two draft documents. The FAA does not anticipate adding new terms and conditions at this time, although it may make some modifications to the draft documents based on input by parties commenting on the LaGuardia rulemaking. While the FAA noted in its denial of your initial request for an extension of the comment period that you had raised a concern about the Documented Categorical Exclusion (CATEX) prepared for this rulemaking, we failed to respond to that concern. We decline the request to renew or extend the comment period on the NPRM after the documented categorical exclusion is revised and re‑published. Should the FAA determine that the revisions suggested by the Port Authority are warranted, then the FAA may, but would not be required to, issue the revised categorical exclusion for public review and comment before any final rule is published. By: Rebecca MacPherson Index